Tuesday August 9, 2011

Villagers missed tell-tale signs of impending doom

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The landslide which claimed seven lives in an orang asli village in Brinchang here was an incident waiting to happen.
Villager Ramlah Batsi, 37, said she had noticed the water becoming muddy whenever it rained lately.
“There were also small floods after rainfall in recent times,” said Ramlah, whose brother-in-law Mohd Ali Hassan, was one of those killed in the incident.

Bundle of hope: Nini Saat carrying her fourmonth- old baby Abim at the evacuation centre at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, yesterday

However, the mother of four said it never occurred to her or her friends and family that this could be a sign that the soil in the area was loosening.
“We never gave it a second thought or even imagined that we would find ourselves in this predicament,” said Ramlah yesterday at the community hall where the villagers had been evacuated to.
Ramlah said heavy rains, the area's underground springs and nearby construction work must have collectively contributed to the tragedy.
Ramlah's neighbour, Normah Din, 39, said there were signs but no one had taken notice of them.
Normah said she was spooked by what had happened and she didn't know if she could return to the village.
“The sight of the destroyed homes gives me the jitters and losing people we had known all our lives in the tragedy makes it worse,” she said.
Both Ramlah and Normah's homes were spared from being damaged as they were not in the path of the landslide.